The Vengeful felt at his arm, and the wound had been completely healed. He leapt down to the crater left from Jaiden's explosion. He grabbed his nearly destroyed mask and put it on, before leaping on top of another building. His purple aura glowed as he ran from each rooftop to the next, finally landing at a part of the city that was completely demolished. The damage seemed recent, with many more craters nearby. He looked over the damage as if he were looking for something specific. He found the outline of what seemed to be a massive crater. He heard something in his ear, before looking over his shoulder. In the distance, the airship was approaching.
In the airship, Jaiden stared out the window, staying to himself. Seer sat down next to him, looking out the same window. They gazed upon the massive crater, and Jaiden's face grew more stern, whereas Seer's stayed the same blank expression it had been the whole time. Jaiden got up, and clenched his sword.
"When we get there, I'm going to split up with you again. I just wanted to make sure you were oka-"
Jaiden felt a sharp pain in the side of his face, as Seer punched him. He grabbed the boy by the shoulders, and his expression was visibly angry. Pyra, Valle and Jonathan had never seen anything like it. Seer snarled at Jaiden, who had an equally stern expression.
"Do I need to give you another one? Let me remind you that I'm above you in rank, which means you take orders from me! You're not doing what you want to do. You're doing what the team needs you to do, because that saves more lives. Do you understand?"
Jaiden gritted his teeth, before shouting back.
"No! I don't! You don't understand how I feel! Do you have any idea how much it hurt? Seeing my father die in front of me? Watching that bastard take everything from me?"
Seer reeled back his fist, and slammed it into Jaiden's face again.
"Wrong answer!"
Pyra tried to interrupt, but Jonathan's facial expression told her that it was best to stay out of it. Nonetheless, she cried out in concern.
"Goruju Kai, Please, stop it!"
Seer grabbed Jaiden by the collar, as what appeared to be a tear formed in his eye.
"You're not the only one who's lost someone here, kid. I'm so sorry that you don't know your real mommy and daddy. And I'm even more sorry that you watched that son of a bitch kill your adoptive father. But the reason I'm doing this, the reason I'm disciplining you, is so you don't do the same reckless shit that I did. I lost everything. That crater you're staring at? That used to be my home. I was reckless, and I didn't do what was best. I got self-righteous and cocky. And it cost me."
Jaiden's face was quiet. He let go of him, and they both sat back down. There was a moment of silence, before Seer began talking again.
"That goes for all of you, by the way."
Seer was quiet for a little while longer, before he began to speak again.
"I used to be a father, you know."
Jaiden raised his head up, his face growing more somber.
"What?"
Seer smiled, folding his hands under his chin.
"Yeah. I graduated from the academia of Midknight and studied to be an engineer. I didn't really have any plans, but that didn't matter to me. Even if it would mean large hours working on the harvesting equipment, I didn't care. It was all for my wife. She was beautiful. Blonde hair, soft orange eyes. We had a baby. And neither of us really made a lot of money. So I had to work really hard to make ends meet. But now that I had graduated, I could do so much more. My son's name was Gabriel. He had blonde hair a lot like yours."
He looked up at Jaiden, who's face began to tear up.
"But it was never meant to last. The Kazemasa have been against Midknight for years because of their technological advancements. So of course, one day they showed up. There were two of them. Both in heavy black uniforms. One in a gas mask, who was mute, and another in a raven mask. Both of their uniforms told me, but I only know it now. They sent two of the Emeyoru to scout out my city. It was home to the academia, and some of Midknight's greatest factories. One day, I came back to my house and got ready for dinner with my family. I was greeted with a knock at the door. The man in the Raven mask approached.
(
"Greetings. I am the Raven, of the Kazemasa. We've decided that this part of the city is invasive of our land. It violates a document that was agreed upon. I wanted to at least warn you. I know you have a kid back there. So it's wise that you get out of here while you still can."
Before Seer could respond, the door was slammed in his face, and the man disappeared. He stepped back, light headed. His wife ran to his side, begging to know what happened. Seer walked over to the counter, before slamming his fist into it.
"Bastards! They can't do this! Last month they took 1 million dollars in supplies, and last week they took 1 thousand men to be soldiers! They're robbing us blind! Dammit!"
He felt a touch on his shoulder.
"Seer, honey. I'm sure that it'll all be okay. We just have to move. As long as I have you and Gabriel, we'll be okay."
Seer trembled.
"Sarah, I worked so hard for this place. If we moved deeper into the city, surely we wouldn't make it. All of the factories, the places I graduated to be able to work at, it's all for nothing."
Seer heard another knock at the door. Sarah walked over to answer it. One of their neighbors walked in with a face just as shocked as Seer's.
"Seer, you have to meet me at the city center tomorrow, we're going to try and organize a council to negotiate this mess. Ever since the government was put into a greater protection, we don't really have a specific leader. So tomorrow, I want you there. Okay?"
The man left, and Seer sat back down at the table. )
"So I went there. We protested, but ultimately, they said that there was nothing to be done. Before we could even try to leave, we heard an explosion. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me.'
(
Seer got to the bottom of what appeared to be a massive crater. He found the debris of his house, only to find a charred corpse that appeared to be cradling something.
"No.. No.. This.. Isn't happening.."
He walked closer, rolling over the woman to find the charred corpse of an infant.
"You were right Sarah! I should have just moved!"
He was smiling, before he fell to his knees and began cackling.
"All of this work! I should have known that dedicating my life to engineering was silly! I mean, come on! I should have known that!"
Seer kept laughing, until the laughing slowly turned to screaming.
"Fuck! Dammit! Why did this have to happen!"
He got up, and slowly walked to the center of the Crater. He found a Kazemasa guard, crouched down next to a black smokey crystal. The guard turned around, pointing up a stunstick.
"Stop right there! Put your hands up!"
Seer smiled, and began speaking calmly.
"Now now, there's no need to be so stern! I was wondering where my family was.. I went to our home, but I found the bodies of two random people. That's not my family.. Right?"
The soldier shook, as he knew that he was in denial.
"I won't say it again. Put your hands up."
Seer thought to himself.
"So there really is no point anymore. Is there?"
The man swung the stunstick, only for Seer to grab it, ripping it from his hands. He proceeded to beat the soldier repeatedly, breaking the glass in his visor until blood started to pour through. He got up, and dropped the stick. He kept laughing, until the laughter turned into sobbing, then, he passed out. He woke up later to find multiple guards with Anzenasho, and found a tall ginger man leaning over him with a hand extended.
"Here, let me help you up!"
Seer got up, his face now emotionless. The man had green eyes, and a very somber expression towards the damage around them.
"Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?")
"Some guards took away the crystal, and later on the Grandmaster showed it to me after my training. I had lost everything. But if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. Jaiden, I don't do all of this because I'm trying to control you or discourage you. I do this because I want the best for you. I don't want you to do what I did. When I first met you, I saw so much potential. You remind me so much of the person I would have wanted Gabriel to be. I don't want you to run off on your own and lose people. You made the right call coming back to us, and I don't want something like that to happen to you too."
Jaiden and the others all wiped tears from their faces, and all got up to hug Seer. Not much to their surprise, he brushed all of them away and was more than annoyed by it. Seer stood up, and placed his hand on Jaiden's shoulder.
"Without a shadow of a doubt, I want you to beat the shit out of The Vengeful. As long as you're with us. I don't want your contact to be severed."
Jaiden smiled, and embraced Seer.
"I understand, sir."
As the airship continued through the air, they all felt the vessel shake. They heard loud sounds of cracking and crumbling around them, as the ship continued to shake. One of the soldiers stepped out of the cockpit and called out to Seer.
"Sir, there's something coming out of the crater!"
At the ground, a massive arm climbed it's way out of the deep crater. The head was black, and had glowing purple cracks running through it. It was a mixture of old scrapyard metal, and newly refined black steel. It had one massive eye, that seemingly functioned as a laser beam. It crawled out of the crater, until it rose to its feet, where it stood 90 feet tall. Seer watched as the eye looked straight at the airship, and raised its arm.
"Watch out!-"
The airship was struck, and began spiraling downward. Seer turned around to the pilot.
"Open the hatch! We're going to jump. Take Yuki somewhere safe. Valle, stay with them to track us. Watch vitals!"
Jaiden was handed multiple parachutes from a soldier, and quickly dispersed them to everyone. Pyra, Jaiden, Jonathan, and Seer all looked at each other, before leaping out of the plane. Seer gritted his teeth and refused to open his parachute. The others looked in shock as Seer's aura surrounded him until he was completely masked in his smoke. The robot stepped forward, each step ringing out a loud bang across the city. Ruins of buildings shattered around the feet of the robot, as clouds of smoke would come up from the debris. The others slowly floated down to the ground, but Seer continued to fly down in his cloud of smoke, until the extended hand of the robot met his face. Seer extended out his legs, and kicked the hand of the robot, just barely managing to kick its arm away, allowing him to fall to the ground. Jonathan, Jaiden, and Pyra met up, and discussed a plan. Pyra looked at the robot, taking notice of the exposed joints that were very poorly designed.
"I think that if one of ya can hold off the robot, I could fly up there and heat up the metal. Those joints just look kinda cheap."
Jaiden nodded his head.
"Yeah, I've worked with tons of metals, and that's very poorly welded. Pyra, are you sure you can slash the metal?"
Jonathan interrupted.
"If you can melt and weaken it, I can use my arma to climb the robot and slash it with my spear. By then it'll be so malleable that a spear would be able to cut through it with ease."
Pyra smiled confidently.
"Then that's settled! I'll have more room to heat up the joints, and you'll have more room to attack. What about you Jaiden?"
Jaiden analyzed the robot, and took a path similar to Jonathan's.
"I'll do the same as Jonathan!"
The three split off, and ran toward the robot. Seer was using his smoke to propel himself into the air, attacking the steel giant with brute force alone. Pyra soared into the air, her aura flaming around her. She swung her sword at the first leg joint, flames slamming against the leg of the robot. Right as she flew back to gain some distance, Jonathan crouched down, and seemingly in an instant, flew up to the leg and slashed at it. The robot's leg cracked, and the head frantically scanned the ground, trying to find out what happened. Seer climbed up to the head of the robot, his hand viciously gripping into the cracks of the metal to hold himself steady, and began punching the glass eye repeatedly.
"This could very well be a laser, but I can easily get away if it fires it."
The eye began glowing, and just as Seer anticipated, it tried to fire. But right as Seer leapt away, the robot grabbed Seer with its hand, holding him directly in the line of fire. Right as the heat began to burn Seer, he channeled his smoke into an explosion, breaking free. He landed on the ground, feeling at his burned arm. He winced, and removed his burned gi, tying it around his waist. Seer crouched down, and took a deep breath.
"I nearly did it in the Outsands, I just have to focus. I refuse to be pathetic."
Seer's body erupted in smoke, the clouds above the city circling him, before entering his body. The ground continued to rumble, and the wind blew harsher, as the robot wasn't the only thing shaking the land around them anymore. Seer focussed his aura, screaming in pain, as if something were burning him.
"Forget the smoldering clouds of smoke! Your wounds mean nothing! Direct ashes from fresh flames are nothing close to the worst that you've felt!"
Seer's eyes looked over to the robot, stepping over the crumbled ruins of what used to be homes, until the robot stepped over one specific building. Seer's eyes went wide.
"That's right. They left the buildings in shambles. The citizens tried their best to bury each body, but they truly did just leave it all behind. I never had any closure with my home. Not a single ounce."
The foot slammed down on top of the home, smoke being kicked into the air. Seer's aura of smoke grew twice in size, as he flew toward the robot, his body smothered in a smokey aura.
"Chromestate: Vesta!"
Seer's body was now completely covered in black smoke. It looked as if he were covered in black flames, trailing off into the air. His eyes were barely visible, only the red parts of them shining through the smoke. The robot fired a laser beam from its face, slamming down into the ground, scorching the soil and slicing through the earth. He ran, dodging each beam. Eventually, the laser beams shot faster and more precise, until Seer punched directly toward one, an explosion crawling up the beam of light and back toward the face of the robot. Seer leapt up in the air, and slammed his fist into the side of the its steel head. The metal flew apart at the sheer force of the punch, and the giant metal body began to lose balance. Pyra melted the other leg, and screamed out to Jaiden and Jonathan.
"Guys! Slice the leg!"
Jonathan thought to himself.
"My attacks aren't nearly as powerful as they need to be to cut through!"
Jaiden turned to Jonathan, and grabbed his arm.
"Jonathan! Use your speed to carry me up there with you! When I get up there, I'll slash the leg!"
Jonathan smirked, and charged up his aura.
"Got it."
His body flew toward the robot, sparks flying across the ground.
"Arma II: Nowhere To Hide!"
Jonathan dashed to the top of the leg, and used his momentum to throw Jaiden toward the joint. Jaiden's sword lit up in a green flame as he slashed the leg.
"Arma I: Glistening Sky!"
Jaiden began to fall back down, but noticed that the slash wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth, and reached his hand out at the joint.
"Arma II: Jolt!"
Multiple green orbs formed around the joint of the robot, and each one exploded in a chain reaction. The leg shattered instantly, and the robot fell to the ground. Seer leapt up in the air, and dove down, slamming his fist into the chest of the robot. A massive explosion engulfed the poorly welded steel, and debris scattered around the crater. Seer fell to his knees, still maintaining Chromestate.
"I have to keep maintaining my form. I see him over there! Dammit! Move, move! Make your body move! Channel your energy as fast as you can!"
As the smoke cleared, Jaiden noticed a shadowy figure leap down from a building. He turned his sword to meet Galasen's, as he kicked Jaiden in the chest, knocking him back. Pyra ran over and slashed at him, but was backhanded, falling down. Jonathan yelled, charging toward him. The Vengeful slashed his blade across Jonathan's armor under his gi, barely missing his stomach. Jaiden swung his sword over Galasen, only for his blade to be knocked away, as he felt a fist slam into his face. Galasen stepped forward, laughing to himself.
"You see, there's a reason why I'm better than you. I don't mean that in a cocky way either. I'm genetically superior to you in every way. Crysenergy? I'm better. Combat? Better."
Jaiden spit blood from his mouth.
"Being a piece of shit? Yeah, you're better in that department for sure."
Galasen chuckled, holding his arms out carelessly.
"Aw, how cute! Do you really think your words are going to do anything? I've been blessed by a God. You see Jaiden, we're more alike than you think. Which is exactly why I want to kill you. While you were tending to your wounds, I was healing. You're back to square one, and I have an advantage even more than I did before."
He kicked Jaiden in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him before punching his face repeatedly. With each punch, Jaiden's form weakened and lowered. He raised his leg for one more kick, sending Jaiden to the ground. Jonathan laid down, acting like he was unconscious. He got up, quickly moving behind Galasen.
"Arma II: Nowhere To Hide!"
Galasen didn't look behind him, but simply moved his arm back, perfectly meeting Jonathan's face, knocking him back into some debris. Jonathan tried to get up, but felt himself faint under the pressure of his injuries. Galasen stepped forward, taking off his mask to reveal a cynical smile.
"If I turned around, your friend would be dead."
Pyra struggled to get up, but rose to her feet. She scowled, and spat on Galasen's face.
"You're pathetic."
Galasen grabbed one of Pyra's horns, and held his blade up to it. She began screaming, trying her best to get away.
"Woah.. a Perolian horn. You know, in some Sectors, they pay money for these. You really think you mean something in this group? You're just a number, only to be dangled in front of someone with more potential than you."
Pyra struggled even more, reaching for her blade. She barely grabbed the end of it, slashing at his face. Galasen backhanded the side of the blade, stopping the weak-handed swing. Tears began to fall from her eyes, as she reached again for the sword.
"I don't care whatcha say! You're wrong. The only person comparing people here is you! Accepting that others are stronger than ya is what you need to grow. Trying to tear me down by insulting my people is lower than acting like you pity everyone here!"
Galasen mockingly rolled his eyes, before smirking.
"Oh shut up already. Your voice is annoying."
Galasen swung his fist at Pyra's face, knocking her out. Jaiden's eyes went wide, as he pushed through his pain, getting up from the ground. He slashed his sword directly at Galasen's arm, slicing into his armor, wounding his arm.
"You stay the hell away from her!"
Galasen cackled, before letting go of Pyra, swinging his blade at Jaiden's. The two traded strikes until The Vengeful flipped backward, and stood on top of a building.
"You know, we wouldn't make a robot that cheap if we really intended on using it. That was the distraction."
He smirked, before his eyes went wide at the sound of a massive explosion. Smoke flew across the air as Seer slammed his smoldering fist into Galasen's face.
"You really expected me to fail in an environment filled with smoke?"
The Vengeful was knocked backward, tumbling into the debris of a building from the sheer force of the punch. He felt at his face and sneered, filled with rage.
"You're going to pay for that."
Galasen pointed his hand out, shooting a beam of purple crysenergy at the debris of the robot. The purple crystal inside began to crack, with beams of lighting radiating off it. Seer reacted almost instinctively, running over to the crystal, throwing his body onto it.
"He's going to set off an explosion regardless! I have to think of something quick."
Seer formed a doom of smoke above the crystal, holding it airtight with his arms in the air. Jaiden looked over in shock, as he could hardly believe his eyes. The ashes were pressed and held together until a light shine came from the dome.
"I can't believe it.. He's pressing them down into diamonds! He's making a dome out of diamond!"
The now shining dome radiated a bright flash, followed by a rumble across the city. The diamonds cracked, revealing Seer covered in scratches and burns. His gi was torn to shreds nearly everywhere. He fell limp, stumbling to the ground. Galasen ran toward Seer, slashing his sword at his chest. Seer groaned, as his muscles were too exhausted to move. Jaiden ran toward them, crying out at Seer.
"Stop! Your fight is with me, not him!"
Galasen cackled, and grabbed Seer by the neck.
"You do understand that I'm one of the Kazemasa Emeyoru, right? One of the strongest people in the world?"
Seer chuckled, prying at his arm.
"Yeah.. But it took me a damn good while to be killed by one of the strongest."
Galasen raised his sword, and swung down. As the blade made contact with his neck, Seer disappeared into a cloud of smoke, turning around to slam his fist into Galasen's face. The Vengeful smirked, and swung his sword behind him in reaction to the attempted flank. Seer's hand was sliced off instantly, as he screamed in agony. Galasen kicked him to his feet, taking notice of his weakened aura.
"You overcharged, didn't you? Or at the very least, a crystal fracture. You'll be dead soon if you don't wrap that wound up. What a shame.. I would let you live if you weren't such a high priority to Anzenasho. But you've pissed me off enough already."
Jaiden ran toward them, slashing his sword at Galasen's neck.
"Bastard!"
The Vengeful turned around, locking blades with Jaiden.
"You know what. I think I've had enough of this bullshit."
Galasen stepped back, swinging his blade away, before grabbing Jaiden by the neck.
"Let's take this somewhere else!"
Galasen's purple aura glowed as he levitated into the air, holding Jaiden up by his neck. He reeled back his arm, effortlessly throwing the blonde through the air toward the outer edges of the main city. Jaiden could hardly react as his body was slung through the air.
"Shit! I have to think fast.. Seer told me something back then.. Something about a counter-explosion. If I can channel that right as I fall. I can do this! Wait.. Are they all going to be okay? No, now's not the time to think about them. Seer is highly experienced, he'll recover from his wounds. I just have to focus. I can't let my emotions take over!"
Jaiden looked over at a nearby city building he was about to fall against, and released an explosion of crysenergy.
"Arma IV: Crysenergy Dispel!"
The purple tinted windows shattered alongside the concrete, as Jaiden felt himself tumble into the building. His body slammed against office desks, and he heard the scream of two nearby citizens. He turned around to the citizens, and called out for them to flee.
"Take the nearby staircase! Run as far away as you can!"
Jaiden turned his head, noticing the glare of the Vengeful's flying sword. It slashed right past his ear, and Galasen leapt into the building, tumbling over to grab the sword.
"Times up, Steely."
The sky was completely dark. The two looked at each other with complete will and intent to win. They paced, circling each other. Jaiden drew his blade, his body surrounded with his green aura. Galasen's red blade shined in the dim purple lights of the destroyed building.
"That sword looks enchanted. Tell me, what have you done that makes you so determined?"
Jaiden smiled, and held the sword tightly.
"The stronger my will is, the more durable my blade is."
Galasen chuckled, his face completely revealed, his burn scar barely visible in the dark room.
"That's laughable. The more enraged I am, the more sharp my blade is. Lucky for you, you spoiled piece of shit.. My fury will never be quelled. Jaiden Steely, I refuse to negotiate any longer. This is a fight to the death."
Jaiden nodded.
"May the best win."
The two ran to the center of the building, their blades grinding against one another, the sound of metal screeching through the ruins. Jaiden swung up to meet each strike from Galasen, as their rapid slashes moved them across the room. Galasen leapt back, dropping a grenade from his waist. The blast blew away the floor, moving them further down into the tall building. Jaiden found a crouched civilian, and used his body to shield them, while also blocking another strike from Galasen.
"Get to safety as soon as you can. Flee the building!"
Jaiden got back up, and swung his sword upward at Galasen
"Arma I: Glistening Sky!"
Galasen's stamina was low, as he recklessly took damage from the blast, and Jaiden's blade scratched his chin. He stumbled backward, as Jaiden sheathed his sword to run toward Galasen, punching him in the face. Before he could re-coordinate to swing his sword, Galasen felt another sharp punch at his face. Jaiden then swung his arms around Galasen and pulled him to the ground, where they wrestled one another. Jaiden reached for the remaining two grenades at his waist, and Galasen noticed.
"You're seriously going to go for those? Fine. We'll use the good stuff now then!"
Galasen rolled over, pulling the pin on the grenade while rolling them both toward the side of the building. Jaiden's aura grew, as he released a counter explosion for his safety, Galasen doing something similar. The grenades were so powerful that when the smoke cleared, the building was now shattered, barely holding itself together. Jaiden was crouched down, looking for his sword. Galasen's was also gone, and the two instinctively ran for each other, trying to fight hand to hand. Jaiden was weak and tired, allowing Galasen to get in a few punches, but Jaiden quickly overpowered him, before delivering the same kick he delivered all those years ago. Galasen's face was furious, as he pushed Jaiden back to the wall, grabbing a pipe from the debris, holding it to his neck. The building was slowly catching fire, growing to their feet. Galasen lowered the pipe, allowing it to become a bright orange. He pressed it under his boot, making it a folded and jagged edge. He held Jaiden by the neck, before throwing him to the ground, swinging the hot pipe, slicing Jaiden's forehead. It burned, causing him to scream in agony. Galasen cackled, smiling sickly.
"Now we match, you spoiled brat."
Jaiden remembered his father. Thinking to his friends, Seer, everyone that had been injured in this fight. He screamed in determination, swinging his leg to kick Galasen off his feet. He crawled over, and got over him, and began punching him repeatedly.
"Like hell I'll match you!"
Galasen barely managed to push Jaiden off him as he grew exhausted, and the two were now distanced. Jaiden watched as Galasen started to charge up his purple aura. The building started to crumble, as he slowly floated into the air. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes showed strain and stress.
"Supreme Leader told me to only use this when I'm in an emergency. But screw it. I'll honor you with dying to an Emeyoru at their full strength!"
The power blasted debris away from him, as his voice grew a deep whisper under his words.
"Chromestate: Blessing of the Kazekami!"
Galasen's body glowed a bright purple aura, as you could hardly see the color of his black uniform, and his black and red hair. He lowered to the ground, swinging his fist at Jaiden. It hit him square in the chest, slamming him back against the wall. He grabbed him by the arm, and swung him to the ground before walking over to him, and kicking him through the floor. Jaiden spit blood up from his mouth, and attempted to use his crysenergy to counter it, but felt his body reach its limit.
"I can't handle it much longer.. I've been channeling, but I'm still near my limit. I almost overcharged earlier, and I can't die now. Not when there's so many lives at stake!"
Jaiden felt a sharp pain in his chest, as Galasen slammed his foot down onto his stomach again, slowly crushing him.
"Now, it's all over for you."
Jaiden felt his eyes glow a bright blue.
"Wait.. I thought Fade told me that we wouldn't talk again.."
Jaiden felt himself transported to the crysitual realm. He looked up at the bright blue hair of Fade. Their eyes kept changing, switching colors with one another. The boy walked forward, and smiled.
"You surpassed my expectations. You lived past where you should have died. I was hoping that you'd get through this fight easily, but I've been watching from behind the scenes and I'm afraid this won't go the way we want it to. I don't think I can get out of this and still live a life with you. But, I think that's for the better."
Jaiden felt the strange mix of emotions from the past lives surge through his body.
"F-Fade.. Please tell me. What the hell is all of this. I don't know you.. But I have memories of you."
The boy chuckled, showing no attempt to hide his tears.
"Right. I need to explain what happened to you. I forgot."
He sat down in the water, Jaiden sitting next to him.
"It started hundreds of years ago for me, but for you, no more than a few months. I was always intrigued by you, and especially your past. You could always do such incredible things. But, I'm a Crowh. A race of beings that have extended lifespans. We worshiped Chronos, the celestial being of time. And like humans, we're directly given the power of a celestial. Similar to you actually."
Jaiden tilted his head.
"But I got mine while fighting that swordsman?"
Fade shook his head.
"Oh no, you've had that in you way longer than you would think. For that matter, you're not even a human. Why else do you think you're casually walking in the crysitual realm. This is a place few users can access, and only those who have extreme training can do so. Or beings that aren't human, but even then that list is restricted."
Jaiden's eyes went wide.
"What am I-"
Fade interrupted him.
"And that's where these rediculous oaths come into play. I can't tell you that part. But now that you lived past the trip in the Outsands, the oath was broken. When I found you, we became great friends. And you turned out in so many different ways. But sadly, I quickly found that I became your worst nightmare. But every time I tried to just silently watch you, you'd find me. We were once enemies, yet you cared about me. We were once lovers. We were once friends. Anything you can think of. But here's the worse part. I committed a crime so great that the Celestial Court of Yamigawa had to stop me. The beings he left to control the judgment of the universe after he died, had to punish me."
Jaiden looked at the water they were sitting in.
"You didn't."
Fade felt tears fall into the water.
"I reset time every time you died. And the universe was reset. But what I didn't know was that I didn't end those universes. I simply threw them off course. The main timeline was no longer that one strand, and I created ungoverned strands of chaos. The courts kept them in check, but they finally had enough. They bound us together permanently, and told me that if I couldn't live through a life without me, then you were truly not destined to wield Surufrest's energy, and we were also never meant to meet. Those timelines would all be erased, and your purpose in this world would be different. But you surpassed that. And I've been freed. Unfortunately, those ungoverned universes will die out too. And this main timeline is all that will live on. But my race, and my celestial are all that remain of the Crowh. If I did come back, we wouldn't know each other. And all of this will have never happened. But what's even worse, is that right now, you're going to die again. You're fighting someone who's wielding the power of Yamigawa's son. You won't win in your weakened state. So the only way I can truly help you win, is by binding to you again, but this time, I won't be able to come back. I served my sentence. But instead, I'll have to bind to you permanently, and every memory we shared will crumble to dust. You will be the new wielder of Chronos, but I will restrict you from accessing him fully. You'll only be able to use his abilities to slightly alter the speed of time, but nothing past that. Your body can't handle any more. You'll only know one thing. That you knew me, and what I'm telling you now. After all, only the main timeline will exist. But I myself, will just be a memory of someone telling you that you had even more memories. I'm sorry that we can't be together. And I'm sorry it had to end this way. I've slowed time down extremely, but we don't have infinite time together. Is there anything you have to say? I know this is a lot to take in."
Jaiden's face was stained with tears, and his scar was completely healed, along with his body and injuries.
"I guess my quick healing is explained."
Fade chuckled.
"Yeah. Perks of not being a human."
Jaiden turned to Fade, feeling the mixture of emotions slowly deteriorate.
"Fade? Is it starting to happen?"
His eyes went wide, as he felt tears flow down his face.
"Y-yeah, I think it is."
Jaiden held onto the blue haired boy and sobbed.
"I don't want to go. Fade, please."
He held onto Jaiden tightly, and smiled.
"Oh Jaiden, my name is Xhan. It's always been that. I would never let you lose me without knowing my real name."
Jaiden felt his emotions of sadness lessen, as he instead felt the urge to hold Xhan even tighter.
"I feel it slipping away."
Xhan noticed his fingertips beginning to crumble to dust.
"Remember Jaiden, I won't be dead."
The two pulled away just to look each other in the eyes.
"I'll just be a part of you. Forever."
The two both chuckled, and hugged again. Jaiden felt his emotions lessen even more.
"I'm never going to forget this. Even if those lives are never lived again, I'll never forget you."
The two got up from the water, holding each other. Fade's body slowly crumbled to dust, until Jaiden could only see the spirit of Xhan.
"I'll miss you, Jaiden Steely. Let's be together, forever. As one."
Jaiden felt as his hair grew a lighter shade of blonde, and his eyes permanently stayed the bright blue they would flash as. He turned around to a hooded figure with a dial for a sword, standing tall with his hands over the blade.
"I am Chronos. Per request of master Xhan, I will leave Surufrest your main vessel, and I will only give you minor access to my abilities. You may always visit me if you need. But I doubt I will be much use to you. But per his last request, you will gain a significant boost in power, and this once I will give you temporary use of my abilities. Your wounds will heal faster than they do already, preventing you from death to your current wounds. Now, please get back to your fight."
Jaiden's eyes opened, as they met Galasen's. He quickly raised his arms, grabbing Galasen's leg, throwing him over to his side. He got up to his feet to see Galasen floating in the air.
"Stop squirming already, worm."
Jaiden's green aura burned bright, the green tint growing so sharp and dark that a dark blue met the ends of it.
"I feel some kind of resistance.. Now I know. Back at Sector Four Village, I nearly went chromestate, but the court stopped me. But now.. I don't feel that same resistance for some reason. Maybe this is what Chronos was talking about!"
Jaiden floated into the air, staring Galasen in the eyes.
"Chromestate: Dual-Wielding, Surufrest and Chronos!"
Jaiden's body erupted with energy, his hair turning so bright it was nearly a silvery white. His eyes shined a bright blue as the rest of his body was engulfed in the aura of blue and green. His vision was slower than normal, and his reaction speed was faster than ever. Galasen screamed, and ran toward him, the two slamming each other's fists into one another. Jaiden ran over to some debris and found his sword, sheathing it. He walked carelessly, almost taunting Galasen. He smirked, and gestured his hand for him to approach. He snarled, running toward Jaiden. The two continued to fight until Galasen leapt backward, releasing an enormous blast of energy.
"Arma VIII: Avalon!"
The blast completely destroyed the walls of the building, as it collapsed on the two, leaning against another building. The space above them from the shattered floors allowed them to still fight. Jaiden ran over, grabbing Galasen's blade. He thought back one last time to his father, and slashed the jagged red blade directly into Galasen's chest. He was instantly knocked out of his form, his body standing up only because of his own sword. Jaiden viciously ripped the sword back out of him, as his body fell to the ground. Jaiden's form quickly left him as well, as he walked over to Galasen, who was trying his best to get to his feet. Jaiden smiled, as he crouched down to pet Galasen's face like a dog.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this. But I honestly don't hold remorse for human scum like you."
Galasen felt tears come to his eyes. He fell back down, as the sword had sliced straight into his vital nerves that allowed him movement of his lower body. Now paralyzed, he couldn't move any longer.
"Dammit! Why couldn't I do it! Why couldn't I just fucking kill you!"
Jaiden chuckled, and continued to watch. But suddenly, he felt remorse.
"You're no worse than him, laughing like this. This isn't what father would have wanted."
Jaiden reluctantly walked over, and held Galasen over his shoulders, walking him to the open end from where the building fell the other way. He felt him weakly punch at his back pitifully, before he stopped. Jaiden looked down for a way to safely get to the ground. Galasen coughed up blood before he spoke again.
"W-why are you doing this to me. If you're going to kill me.. Just do it already. Or are you so sickening that you're going to drop me down there to my death."
Jaiden sighed, and continued to look.
"I'm trying to save your life. Even if you're garbage you deserve prison at the least. I hear the Spirit forest has one of the best in Tezerra."
Galasen's angry expression faded.
"That's why."
Jaiden was confused.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Galasen sighed, as blood continued to flow from his mouth.
"Funny how I couldn't tell you because of the spell, but now that I'm dying I can. You want to know what my Goruju trial was?"
Jaiden was frustrated, but curious.
"What."
Galasen felt tears fall from his face.
"I fought you. And I won. The Grandmaster had always told me that I was a student with som much potential. But the second you started showing progress he began to prioritize you instead. I'd spent so much time working for his approval, that I forgot why I was even fighting. I've always ran. That's all I've ever known. The Goruju trial is a complete reflection of your biggest enemy. And it was you. My best friend. I defeated you, and felt accomplished. But what I never realized is that I defeated my need for approval. So the second I thought my potential wasn't being realized, I didn't do the right thing. I took it out on you. And Supreme Leader Yinson knew that. He knew I was weak. And he made me into a monster. Jaiden, I don't deserve to live. Even if you try to save me, I don't want to live. I've been paralyzed from the waist down. Just let me fall with this building. I'd rather die in the rubble than be taken into enemy territory. Take my blade, it'll be a gift I never gave. Carry me on that way if you truly have any sympathy left in you. Just leave me here. I want to be buried under my own pathetic display of destruction. Just do that for me, okay, Jay?"
Jaiden felt a soft yet sorrowful smile hit his face.
"Yeah, I can do that."
Galasen was set down to the ground, and smiled as his life left him. He died with a smile on his face. Jaiden walked over to Galasen's sword, and sheathed it, before carrying the sheath over his back.
"I'll find a way to honor you. I promise. Even if I can't bury you, I'll carry on your soul in this blade."
Jaiden leapt off the building. He began walking away, only to look back as the building fell, smoke being sprayed all across the city. He reached the crater, where Jonathan and a soldier from the airship were tending to Seer's wounds. Pyra limped over to Jaiden, and held him tightly.
"I've been so worried about ya. Is everything okay?"
Jaiden's face was somber.
"I killed him. But I had to."
Yuki stumbled out of the airship before Jonathan quickly scrambled to hold her up, Valle taking his place in running vitals.
"Did we win?"
Jonathan sighed, and glanced over to Seer.
"Jaiden killed Galasen, and Seer overcharged. He lost a hand, and he's bleeding internally. We have to load him up and head straight to Anzenasho if there's any hope for him."
Yuki felt tears under her eyes, and she called for Jaiden to come near him. She hugged him and Jonathan both, Pyra joining in. Jaiden felt that it was odd that Xhan wasn't there, and found it even more odd that they didn't comment on his hair and eyes, but he was sure that it was due to the fact he technically never existed, and his hair and eyes were now always like that because of it. Yuki sniffled, holding everyone tight.
"I'm sorry I wasn't of any use."
Jonathan cried, giving her a reassuring pat on the back.
"It's okay. You did your best. Seer told us that you fended off Galasen all on your own."
Yuki looked over to Jaiden.
"I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of all of you."
The soldiers carried Seer onto the airship, and everyone else followed. Once they reached Anzenasho, everyone was immediately taken to nurses and checked on. Yang met with Jaiden, Yuki, Pyra and Jonathan. Seer was taken to the infirmary where he was placed in a bed. In the meeting room, the four were surprised to find that Milo wasn't there. The Grandmaster walked forward, and smiled.
"I'm very proud of all of you. I hope you all understand that today, you saved nearly a million lives. And Jaiden, I hear that you have now slain a Kazemasa Emeyoru. Do you understand the gravity of that feat?"
Jaiden nodded his head.
"Yes Grandmaster."
Yang continued on, his tone growing more serious.
"These are troubling times, so I ask that we stay strong. Seer has been put on life support, and is suffering extreme episodes in and out of consciousness. He's suffered extreme burns, overcharging his crystal, internal bleeding, and his hand has also limited his abilities for the scenario that he wakes up. As a result, I'm making the decision for him to retire any Anzenasho work from here on out. Milo also healed up and went out on his own journey, but unfortunately saved a civilian in an accident, resulting in a heavy injury. Him and Seer both will be in the infirmary healing up. In their place, I demand a rank reassignment. But not only that, I recall that Jaiden, you have committed acts against this organization, and although I appreciate your feats, you have been demoted to Masushi. Unless you wish to change that, of course."
Jaiden turned to Yuki, and confidently smiled.
"Alright Grandmaster, I challenge Yuki to a rank assignment spar."
Yuki smiled, and weakly held herself up to meet his eyes.
"Once we're all healed, you've got it. Better yet, the winner has to take the Goruju trial."
The Grandmaster smiled, and put his hands together.
"Well, that's settled. Everyone, go get some rest. You all certainly need it."
Far off, northwest of Sector Four Village, was Kazekari. The home of the Kazemasa. Outside the back of an enormous temple was a courtyard, and a grave. Yinson walked out, as a band of soldiers with their helmets removed, played soft sounds of brass and soothing somber music. What looked like a thousand soldiers were gathered around, and at the casket itself were three figures. The Prince, The Damsel, and a third figure. The Supreme leader grabbed a microphone, and spoke into it. Everyone was wearing formal attire, including The Supreme leader himself. His kimono was a softer purple, and his breathing mask was switched to a more sleek and firm design.
"Greetings, my children. As you know, we are all disheartened to lose the life of our brother, The Vengeful. But I urge you all that we shall stand against the world government, and Anzenasho! This marks the turning point, and this act of treason will not go unrecognized! These events kick off that of the Second Celestial War! We will rise! And gain the power necessary to overthrow the world government, and I, Yinson Yamigawa will rise up to the throne and take my father's power! And when I do, I will rid this world of celestial creatures, so that only the people my father created will be alive, and peace will be established between the two plains. People of the Kazemasa, I demand that Kazekari go into a week of mourning, before we resume activity. Everyone, please go pay your respects after each of your higher rank members have left."
Aaron was somber, looming over the closed casket, elevated over a dug out grave.
"I told you that your plan would get you killed if you weren't careful."
He walked off, slowly dragging his hand along the casket. The Damsel looked at Galasen's casket and had a pitiful look on her face.
"I knew that after we replaced The Raven, these ranks would get low. But not that low. Alas, poor Galasen. You were a doll not sewn together with looks or charm in mind. I will miss your kindness, but your power I look forward to replacing."
The Damsel looked over to the mysterious figure, and sighed.
"You don't say anything, do you. I guess The Reaper really does live up to his name of being quiet. It's a shame. I really do admire you. Especially the face under that mask of yours."
A man in a completely black military uniform slowly looked through a black gas mask over at The Damsel. His hair was blonde, and messy. His mask was cold and dark, as was the rest of his body. He didn't speak a single word, only standing there as if he was simply demanded to. The Supreme leader looked out at the casket, before announcing to the crowd once more.
"Begin the time of mourning, my children. This is only a casualty in my grand goal."